US2361675A - Shoe construction - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 31, 1944. T. R. ATKINS SHOE CONSTRUCTION Filed May 19. 1942 Patented Oct. 31, 1944 OFFICE SHOE CONSTRUCTION Thomas R. Atkins, Saugus, Mass. Application May 19, 1942, Serial No. 443,557

' 6 Claims.

This invention relates more particularly to an improved upper construction for pumps and other shoes in which it is desired to provide a yielding or elastic action of the upper about the shoe opening and especially about the throat of the vamp and the instep of the wearers Shoes have heretofore been made in which the leather portion of the upper has been slashed therethrough to make it expansible and a lining of rubber or rubber containing fabric has been associated therewith to secure elastic action. A slashed upper however, tends to become permanently distorted in wear and rubber containing fabric is no longer available for shoe manufacture. Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a shoe having an .elastic action at its opening without either thus slashing the leather portion of the upper or employing rubber in its construction. I

With these ends in view an important feature of my invention consists in an upper scored on its grain surface only and presenting an intact and unbroken flesh surface. I have discovered that by scoring the leather portion of the upper even when it consists of such normally inelastic material as patent leather, the leather may be rendered expansible or stretchy as a whole in the desired direction and that within practical limits it may be stretched repeatedly without permanent distortion or opening of the scored lines therein.

Another important feature of the invention consists in the employment of a ynthetic resin in sheet form, for example Vinylite, as an elastic reinforcing element in the upper- I have discovered that such material, while never before employed for its elastic qualities, when enclosed between plies of stretchy upper material will impart elasticity to the whole structure com paring very favorably with that heretofore only derived by using a rubber fabric.

In its preferred form the upper of my invention comprises a leather portion transversely scored on its outer surface only and folded across the scored marks so as to present opposed inner faces which are intact and enclose a doubled strip or sheet of Vinylite, the said elements being maintained in the desired assembled relation by one or more zig-zag lines of stitching which permit longitudinal stretch and contraction of the assembled upper longitudinally of the shoe opening therein.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and. shown in the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a shoe employing my invention in its construction;

Fig. 2 illustrate a piece of leather scored at one face in accordance with the invention,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged inner view of the throat of the shoe illustrated in Fig. 1, portions being shown in raised position to illustrate the construction,

Fig. 4 is a like outer view thereof, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of a shoe employing a goring constructed in accordance with my invention,

Fig. '7 i a fragmentary view of this goring.

The shoe or pump illustrated in Fig. 1 cmploys a throat portion l0 constructed to yield in conformity to the foot of the wearer. In shoes heretofore made this throat portion has em-.

bodied an inner strip of rubber-containing fabric about which the leather of the throat is folded U-shaped, and the leather of the throat has been slashed therethrough to permit expansion. My invention not only' eliminate such slashing whichweakens the throat and permits permanent distortion thereof but furthermore provides the necessary elasticity without requiring the use of rubber which is now unavailable for this purpose.

Leather is substantially inelastic and I have discovered that such inelasticity in flexible leather adaptable to use for the throat In resides largely on one face of the leather, such as the grain surface or a coated surface like in patent leather, and that otherwise the leather has sufficient elasticity to serve the desired function. In accordance with my invention, therefore, I score the portion of the leather piece l2. which isto form the throat I0, along a plurality of relatively adjacent and substantially parallel lines l4, the scoring cuts extending through the substantially inelastic face 16 but substantially short'of the opposite face It. The scored portion secured together by zig-zag stitching 28 which permits of longitudinal expansion.

I have furthermore discovered that a synthetic and homogeneous sheet product known as Vinylite has sufficient elasticity to serve as the elastic medium 20 and preferably therefore I incorporate such material into my improved construction. This material is formed into film-like sheets so flexible, tough and of limited elasticity that it serves the desired purpose as satisfactorily as the more expensive and unavailable rubber heretofore used. The supply of Vinylite is furthermore without restriction, and its use merely requires the severing of the necessary strips from sheets thereof, folding them to U-form and stitching the legs together at 28.

It should be understood that Vinylite is'only one of a class of known synthetic resinproducts which can be used satisfactorily in the novel construction of my invention. Ethyl cellulose, polymers of vinyl acetate or conjoint polymers of vinyl acetate and vinyl chloride, n butyl methacrylate, polystyrene and various analogous or derivative products may be successfully employed since they also have the essential characteristics required.

While in the drawing I have illustrated the leather piece I2 as scored on and through its outer face, the invention is also quite applicable to construction in which the inner face is scored. One example of such construction resides in suede shoes in which the flesh side of the leather is on the outside. In such case the grain side of "the leather piece is scored as illustrated in Fig. 2, and the piece is folded U-shaped with the scored surface inwardly whereby leaving the outer surface intact.

The shoe 30 shown in Fig. 6 employs a resilient goring 32 on each side of the throat thereof and connecting the vamp 34 and quarter 36. This goring, illustrated more particularly in Fig. '7, is constructed in accordance with my invention. The grain face of a leather strip 38 is skived along its edge portions at 31 and the intermediate portion is scored transversely alonga plurality of parallel lines 40 in the manner above described, and the leather strip is folded with the grain face inside about a strip 42 of Vinylite or lik composition having elastic properties. Adhesive is applied along the edges of the strip 38 at 43 and the combined strips are preferably stitched together along the zig zag line 44. The skiving and scorings render the leather strip stretchable longitudinall and this strip combined with the strip 42 provides a very serviceable elastic goring of the nature and for the purpose described. While the zig zag stitching is desirable and permits the goring to expand and contract longitudinally, it will be understood that any suitable holding means can be employed in lieu of the stitching.

It will now be apparent that I have produced anew and valuable contribution in the art of shoe construction wherein the construction is rendered stronger, more attractive, and more capable of retaining its original shape, and furthermore, the requirement for rubber has been eliminated by the employement of another available product which has been found sufficiently elastic to serve the desired function and which is also less expensive than the rubber fabric heretofore employed.

Having thus disclosed my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a shoe upper, a leather piece having limited elasticity except on one face which is substantially inelastic, the piece being scored thereacross along a plurality of relatively adjacent and substantially parallel lines and through said inelastic face but short of the opposite face whereby rendering the .piece expansiblein a direction transversely of said lines and leaving said opposite face intact.

2. In a sho upper, a leather piece folded U- shaped onto itself, a cooperating piece of elastic material folded U-shaped onto itself and inserted within the leather piece fold, and means holding the two pieces in assembled relation, the leather piece having limited elasticity except at one face which is substantially inelastic and being scored about and transversely of the U-fold along a plurality of relatively adjacent and substantially parallel lines and through said face but short of the opposite face, whereby rendering the piece expansible along the fold and leaving said opposite face intact.

3. The shoe upper defined in claim 2 in which the outer face of the leather piece is substantially inelastic and is scored along said lines through the outer face but short of the inner face.

4. A leather shoe upper having its top edge scored transversely thereof and through its grain surface only and leaving the opposite surface in tact, the upper being folded U-shaped trans,- versely of'the scorings to present opposed inner faces, and a sheet of elastic material enclosed between said inner faces and atv said topv edge and providing in the upper a folded elastic edge about the opening thereof,

5. A leather shoe upper having its top edge scored transversely in its outer surface only and folded transversely of the scored marks thereby presenting opposed surfaces which are inwardly intact and outwardly scored, and a sheet of elastic material doubled and enclosed between the intact faces and at said edge and providing in the upper a'folded elastic edge about the opening thereof.

6. An article of manufacture comprising a leather strip having limited elasticity except on one face which is substantially inelastic, said strip being scored transversely thereacross along a plurality of relatively adjacent and substantially parallel lines and through the inelastic face but short of the opposite face whereby rendering the strip expansible longitudinally and leaving said opposite face intact, and a strip of material having elastic properties, the leather strip being folded about and enclosing the elastic strip with the score lines extending transversely of the strips.

" THOMAS R; ATKINS.

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